Fire

Use

The presence of fire is comforting and exciting at the same time. We won't go into esoteric detail, but fire symbolises annihilation and renewal. For nocturnal activities, it is also a source of illumination. We suggest campfires, the use of torches and the creation of sweat lodges.

Protocol

As we presume the reader will know how to start a camp-fire, we will focus on a sweat lodge and torches.

Sweat-lodge

The sweat lodge is a ritual ceremony of physical and spiritual purification of American Indian origin. It can easily be recreated in the wilderness or in the backyard of your home. We are told that sweating helps to expel toxins and diseases. It also calms the mind and helps the consciousness to reconnect with more spiritual realities. The combination of the elements of fire, water and earth is interesting. Uh, what does this have to do with futurology? The sensations, which are quite powerful in relation to experience, can be mobilised to highlight certain activities.

Compatible with Invocations of Ancestors (p. ), World Word Building (p.), Intergenerational Conversation (p. ), Mental projections (p. ), etc. Or just to add joy to the life of the group.

How to do it?

Choose a fairly large outdoor space where you can build a fire to heat the stones. Traditionally, tree branches are cut and skins or blankets are hung on the structure. Alternatively, a canvas tent without a floor, large enough to hold the number of people expected to attend the ceremony will also work.

Before setting up the tent, you should dig a hole in the middle of the surface where you will put the heated stones. At the bottom of this hole, place sage and cedar, which when heated gives off a fragrant conducive to meditation. The fire keeper heats the stones while the tent is being set up. Once everything is ready, the lodge leader invites the participants to enter the tent, one by one, and to sit on the ground. This is done in silence.

When everyone has taken their seats, the fire keeper arrives with the white-hot stones. He places them in the hole lined with herbs. The smoke and the smell of the plants and hot stones can be felt. It is then time to produce steam, which the lodge master does by pouring water on the stones. The steam will rise and so will the ambient temperature. The heat and steam quickly disappear and the process can be repeated. The duration of the ritual is at the discretion of the lodge leader.

Some rules

The lodge chief is responsible for safety. So is the fire keeper. He looks after the fire, brings the stones and any accessories needed for the ritual. Drugs and alcohol are not recommended before or after.

Torches

Take thick enough branches. Tear up old sheets, preferably white cotton, to avoid toxic fumes. Wrap the ends of the branches with cloth, taking care to leave a small piece sticking out to serve as a wick. Then melt blocks or pebbles of paraffin in a pan. pan. When it has completely melted, add the torches and leave to soak over an open fire, until the liquid is absorbed. Be careful, melting paraffin stains and burns.

Testimonies

I tried this sweat lodge project during the lockdown. We were doing co-learning sessions with Hans B. and Laura Deschepper, and I was in a village in Burgundy while the rest of the group was in Brussels. I am a fan of hammams, and would like to do them more often. It is an art of living. And I think it's great to make your own. It also gave me a sense of remedy for not being together physically. Building this hut and thinking about my friends from where I am. Building this hut also made me think of the phrase 'who is not in the room?', which has become for me lately like a refrain of a song from the Velvet Underground or Fugazi, whose lyrics still need to be written. The sweat lodge is made magical by the mix of heat, fire and water. In the smoke of the sweat lodge, you can imagine who you want to appear as well as who is not in the room: ancestors, descendants, imaginary characters.

We also practised the 'Expert Game' in a hammam in Lille, with Diederik P. and a whole bunch of participants in a session in 2018.

Anna Cz.